Atos Consulting wins Platinum Award for its work with the Department for International Development (DFID)

May 3, 2007

Atos Consulting was named the overall winner (Platinum Award) in this year’s MCA Management Awards in association with Management Today for its Balkans Justice Programme for the Department for International Development (DFID).

Despite the assassination of the Serbian prime minister and the ensuing state of emergency, Atos completed 11 projects in just three years – improving the effectiveness of the police, courts, prisons and central government ministries running these systems.The winners were announced at the MCA Management Awards dinner at the London Hilton, Park Lane. Other awards presented on the night included Quest Worldwide, who received the award for Best Small Firm for their work with Unilever.

The prestigious Management Awards are organised by the MCA, and run in association with Management Today – the most widely read monthly business magazine in Britain. The awards aim to identify the best case studies in each of the 10 categories, where organisations, in the private or public sector, have achieved a significant improvement in performance with the assistance of management consultants, either in-house or external.

Atos Consulting – Platinum Award Winner

In 2001, after more than a decade of war, the Balkans region was in the grip of corruption and organised crime. The relationship between citizens and justice authorities were threadbare.

In 2002, DFID asked Atos Consulting to implement a £12.5million project in the Balkans to improve the effectiveness of the police, courts, prisons and central government ministries running these systems. Atos put together a team of close to 100 people in 17 locations, working in four different languages. There were consultants with experience of developing countries, specialists and practitioners, plus local experts.

After a conflict assessment, Atos and DFID agreed 11 major projects with 25 beneficiary organisations. On completion of all 11 of the projects in 2005, Atos could point to improved relations between police and citizens, and better reporting of crime and clear-up rates. In the courts, case backlogs have been cut, the number of summons delivered has risen, and adjourns have fallen dramatically.

George McLaughlin, Head of the Department for International Development, Serbia commented: "The implementing team has been professional. Their interpersonal, process, technical and networking skills have been brilliant."

Quest Worldwide – Best Small Firm

Unilever is one of the world’s largest companies, with 150million customers in 150 countries. When Patrick Cescau became CEO in 2005, growth had stalled and market share in some key sectors were falling.

In a four-week global survey of stakeholders, Quest found no common approach or terminology. Much disconnected work went into separate planning processes and numerous reports. The consulting firm proposed a ‘Strategy Into Action’ programme. As the project involved hundreds of leadership team and tens of thousands of managers, Quest trained and coached a team of process leaders and champions.

The Unilever strategy has had an early impact. Sales growth, targeted for 3%-5% by 2010, had hit 3.9% by the middle of 2006, compared to 0.4% in 2004. Net profit has increased by 22% since 2004 and loss of market share has been halted.

MCA Management Awards Winners 2007

Platinum Award

Winner: Atos Consulting/Department for International Development

Technology

Winner: IBM Global Business Services/The Ministry of Defence

Best Small Firm

Winner: Quest Worldwide/Unilever

International

Winner: Atos Consulting/The Department for International Development

Best Public Sector Project

Winner: PA Consulting Group/The Highways Agency

Business Strategy

Winner: Deloitte/BAFTA

Best Private Sector Project

Winner: WCI Consulting/Eurosilicone

Change Management

Winner: PA Consulting Group/The Highways Agency

Operational Performance

Winner: WCI Consulting/Eurosilicone

Innovation

Winner: Atos Consulting/The Department for International Development

Corporate Social Responsibility

Winner: Accenture/GSM Association

Human Resources

Winner: PA Consulting Group/JobCentre Plus

Outsourcing

Winner: Troika/Threadneedle Investments

Marketing

Winner: Propaganda/Fleet Management Group

Judging Panel:

A distinguished panel of judges evaluates case studies submitted for the 10 categories of the Awards. This year’s judges were: